Free to Choose
Free to Choose (1980) is a book and a ten-part television series broadcast on public television by economists Milton and Rose D. Friedman that advocates free market principles. It was primarily a response to an earlier landmark book and television series: The Age of Uncertainty, by the noted economist John Kenneth Galbraith. Overview Free to Choose: A Personal Statement maintains that the free market works best for all members of a society, provides examples of how the free market engenders prosperity, and maintains that it can solve problems where other approaches have failed. Published in January 1980, the 297 page book contains 10 chapters. Milton Friedman won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics in 1976. Contrary to normal practice the book was written after the TV series was produced, although the line "Basis for the acclaimed public television triumph" is written on the front cover, using the program transcripts as reference. The book was on the United States best sellers list for 5 weeks. PBS telecast the series, beginning in January 1980; the general format was that of Dr. Friedman visiting and narrating a number of success and failure stories in history, which Dr. Friedman attributes to capitalism or the lack thereof (e.g. Hong Kong is commended for its free markets, while India is excoriated for relying on centralized planning especially for its protection of its traditional textile industry). Following the primary show, Dr. Friedman would engage in discussion with a number of selected debaters drawn from trade unions, academy and the business community, such as Donald Rumsfeld (then of G.D. Searle & Company) and Frances Fox Piven of City University of New York. The interlocutors would offer objections to the proposals put forward by Friedman, who would in turn respond. After the final episode, Friedman sat down for an interview with Lawrence Spivak. The series was rebroadcast in 1990 with Linda Chavez moderating the episodes. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Ronald Reagan, Steve Allen and others give personal introductions for each episode in the series. This time, after the documentary part, Friedman sits down with a single opponent to debate the issues raised in the episode. Guest debaters Guest debaters included: *Michael Harrington (author, academic, activist) *Russell W. Peterson (chemist, politician) *Bob Galvin (CEO of Motorola, Inc.) *Barber Conable (politician, President of the World Bank) *Richard Deason (IBEW union leader) *Donald Rumsfeld (politician, President of G. D. Searle & Company) *Helen Hughes (economist) *Jagdish Bhagwati (economist) *Robert Lekachman (economist) *Nicholas von Hoffman (journalist, political commentator/columnist) *Peter Temin (economist) *Peter Jay (economist, journalist, diplomat) *James R. Dumpson (bureaucrat, social worker, academic) *Thomas Sowell (economist, author, columnist) *Robert Lampman (economist) *Helen Bohen O'Bannon (economist, bureaucrat, social worker) *Frances Fox Piven (academic) *Albert Shanker (President of UFT and AFT teachers' unions) *John Coons (law professor, school choice activist) *Thomas Shannon (Executive Director of the NSBA) *Gregory Anrig (Commissioner of Massachusetts Department of Education) *Kathleen O'Reilly (CFA consumer advocate) *Richard Landau (medical professor) *Joan Claybrook (Administrator of the NHTSA) *Robert Crandall (Brookings Institution economist) *Lynn R. Williams (International Secretary of United Steelworkers) *Walter E. Williams (economist, political commentator) *Ernest Green (U.S. Assistant Secretary of Labor) *William H. Brady (Founder and President of W.H. Brady Co.) *Clarence J. Brown (politician) *William McChesney Martin (former Chairman of the Federal Reserve) *Beryl Wayne Sprinkel (Executive Vice President of Harris Bank) *Otmar Emminger (President of Deutsche Bundesbank) Positions advocated The Friedmans advocate laissez-faire economic policies, often criticizing interventionist government policies and their cost in personal freedoms and economic efficiency in the United States and abroad. The authors argue against government taxation on gas and tobacco and government regulation of the public school systems. The Friedmans argue that the Federal Reserve exacerbated the Great Depression by neglecting to prevent the decline of the money supply in the years leading up to it. On the subject of welfare, the Friedmans argue that current welfare practices are creating "wards of the state" as opposed to "self-reliant individuals" and suggest a negative income tax as a less harmful alternative. The Friedmans also argue for abolishing the Food and Drug Administration, tighter control of Fed money supply, and the repeal of laws favoring labor unions. Video chapters (1980 version) #The Power of the Market (Abstract) #The Tyranny of Control (Abstract) #Anatomy of Crisis (Abstract) #From Cradle to Grave (Abstract) #Created Equal (Abstract) #What's Wrong with Our Schools? (Abstract) #Who Protects the Consumer? (Abstract) #Who Protects the Worker? (Abstract) #How to Cure Inflation (Abstract) #How to Stay Free (Abstract) Video chapters (1990 version) #The Power of the Market – Intro by Arnold Schwarzenegger (Abstract) #The Tyranny of Control – Intro by George Shultz (Abstract) #The Failure of Socialism – Intro by Ronald Reagan (Abstract) #What's Wrong With Our Schools – Intro by David Friedman (Abstract) #Created Equal – Intro by Steve Allen (Abstract) See also *''Economics Does Not Lie'' External links * Streaming of the original 1980 television series "Free to Choose" as well as an updated 1990 version. * Free To Choose Media page * Streaming of the original 1980 television series "Free to Choose" in Spanish. Category:1980 books Category:Economics books Category:Capitalist books Category:Finance books Category:Libertarian books Category:Classical liberalism Category:Television programs based on books Category:Works by Milton Friedman